2014 Volume 25 Issue 6 Pages 396-404
Once items like batteries or fluorescent tube lights are no longer needed in the home, they are normally discarded separately as hazardous waste and then collected and transported away by the municipalities. However, many times, with regard to other toxic substances, such as paints and agricultural pesticides, there is no method for handling or treating due to the dangerous difficulties they pose for disposal. In addition, homeowners who end up with leftover paints or pesticides are confused about where to take them for safe processing. The treatment and processing technologies used by municipalities are not considered sufficient for handling these types of manufactured products that contain complicated mixtures of chemical substances.
In the West, on the other hand where there is now a strong sense of crisis concerning groundwater pollution, they have decided to prohibit these harmful substances from entering landfill streams. The products have been labeled Household Hazardous Wastes (hereafter referred to as HHW) and thorough control of these waste products is strictly the norm in these countries.
This paper presents the results of a survey on HHW from a report (K113023) put out by the research lab of Professor Matsutou at Hokkaido University. Based on this work, we consider what are the responsibilities that municipalities must adopt with regard to HHW processing and waste management in general.
